Work ejection device for multiplaten hot presses and the like



9, 6 NORIYUKl NAGAOKA 3,288,274

WORK EJECTION DEVICE FOR MULTIPLATEN HOT PRESSES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 4, 1964 United States Patent Office 3,288,274 Patented Nov. 29, 1966 3,288,274 WORK EJECTION DEVICE FOR MULTIPLATEN HOT PRESSES AND THE LIKE Noriyuki Nagaoka, Nagoya-shi, Japan, assignor to Kabushiki Kaisha Taihei Seisakusho, Nagoya-chi, Japan, a

joint-stock company of Japan Filed Nov. 4, 1964, Ser. No. 408,943 1 Claim. (Cl. 198-221) This invention relates to a new device for ejecting pressed workpieces (hereinafter referred to simply as work or workpieces) from a multiplaten hot press, the unique feature of said device being that it pushes the rear end (material insertion end) of each workpiece slightly forward (toward the ejection end), when the work is to be taken out of the press, so as to enable means such as pinch rolls, a grasping mechanism, or the like to pull out the workpiece in the forward direction.

Heretofore, workpieces (for example, plywood sheets, fiberboard sheets or mat, and laminated sheets) have been taken out of multiplaten hot press by operating ejection means including long push out rods or the like from the material insertion end. Because such means are designed as mechanism to push the work completely out of the press, the entire mechanism has the disadvantages of complexity and large size.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a simple, reliable, and relatively compact device for initiating ejection of workpieces from apparatus such as multiplaten hot press and the like.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a device of the above stated character which, although installed on the material insertion side, does not interfere with the installation or operation of the material insertion means.

Said objects, other objects, and advantages of the present invention have been attained by a device for ejecting the workpieces in a multiplaten hot press, said device comprising two pairs of vertical shafts disposed symmetrically on the left and right sides of the apparatus at its material insertion end, controllable driving means to drive at least one shaft on each side, pairs of left and right link mechanisms supported and driven by respective said shafts and having contact members, each of said pairs of left and right link mechanisms being so disposed and adapted that, during operation, said contact members contact and push one of said workpieces through a predetermined distance in the ejection direction away from the material insertion end and that, when not in operation, said pair of left and right link mechanisms are fully retracted toward their respective sides to avoid interference with the operation of other devices, and means to adjust the effective operational stroke of said link mechanisms and positions relative to the apparatus of said contact members at the end of said stroke.

The nature, principle, and details of the invention will be more clearly apparent from the following description with respect to a preferred embodiment of the invention as applied to a multiplaten hot press, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings 'm which like parts are designated by like reference characters, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view, as viewed from the material insertion side and with a part out out for foreshortening, showing the device according to the invention in the state of pushing workpieces;

FIGURE 2 is a partial plan view taken along the plane indicated by line II-II in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic plan view indicating a drive mechanism for driving the link mechanisms including work pushing members.

Referring to the drawings, two pairs of shafts 1, 2, and

1 2, respectively provided at symmetrical positions at the material insertion end of a multiplaten hot press are rotatably supported by means of two pairs of bearings 4, 5 and 4,, 5 mounted respectively on support arms 3, 3,, secured to the main body of the press. At one end end of each, arms 7, 7,, corresponding to each heating platen 6 of the press are respectively fixed to the shafts 1 and 1 and similarly, at one end of each, arms 8, 8 are respectively fixed to the shafts 2, 2,. Push members 10 and 10 are connected respectively to the other ends of the arms 7, 8 and 7,, 8,, respectively by means of pins 9 and 9,, contact pieces 11, 11 being secured to the pushing ends of said push members 10, 10,. A link mechanism is formed by the arms 7, 8, pin 9 and push member 10, and another by the arms 7,, 8,, pin 9,, and push member 10,, (shown in FIGURE 2). The surfaces of the contact pieces 11, 11,, are so shaped as to slide on the edge surfaces of corresponding work A.

To suitable positions on the lower portions of the shaft 2, 2 there are fixed chain pulleys 12, 12,, coupled by a crossed chain 13, and a reciprocating air cylinder 14 is mounted at a suitable position on the main body of the press between chain pulleys 12, 12 so that the outwardly projecting ends of a piston rod 16 of the air cylinder 14 extending to the both sides of the piston 15 are connected to and form a part of the chain.

The air cylinder 14 is provided with air ports 17 and 18 for entrance and exit of driving air. The air cylinder is adjustably movable in its axial direction, that is, along 1 the chain path, by adjusting means comprising a nut member 22, fixed to the lower side of the cylinder 14 and screw engaged with and driven by a thread shaft 21 which is rotatably supported by supports 19 and is rotated by a handle 20 fixed to its one end.

As the device of the present invention is constructed as described above, when the pressing operation on the work A is completed in the multiplaten hot press, and the heating platens 6 are fully opened, the piston rod 16 is moved in the direction indicated by arrow b (FIG. 3) and rotates the shafts 2, 2 in opposite directions through the chain 13 and chain pulleys 12, 12,, in the direction indicated by arrow c (FIG. 3), said piston 15 being actuated by compresed air supplied through an inlet of air cylinder 14. At the same time, the link mechanism comprising the arms 7, 8, pin 9 and push member 10 and the other comprising the arms 7,, 8,, pin 9,, and push member 10 are operated to rotate in the direction indicated by arrow a (FIG. 2), whereby contact pieces 11, 11,, are uniformly slid in the same direction along the upper surface of the heating platen 6 to push the work A to a predetermined distance. In order to return the push members 10, 10, from the forward position to the retracted stand-by position, compressed air is charged through the inlet 18 of the air cylinder 14, whereby the shafts 2, 2,, are rotated by the piston 15, piston rod 16, chain 13 and chain pulleys 12, 12,, and the link mechanism comprising the arms 7, 8, pin 9, and push member 10 and the other comprising arms 7,,, 8,, pin 9,, and push member 10 are moved from the forward position between the heating platens 6 to the stand-by position clear of the heating platens.

In this case, the optimum rotational action of the push members 10, 10 provided fixedly with the contact pieces 11, 11,, for pushing the work A can be obtained by suitable arrangement of the link mechanism including the angle of the arms 7, 7 8, 8,, for example, an action consisting of a rapid movement from the left and right sides toward the center through a predetermined stroke followed by a gradual pushing of the work can be obtained. In order to change the pushing distance and pushed position in accordance with the nature of the work A, the screw rod 21 is rotated by means of the handle 20 to adjustably move the air cylinder 14 to a suitable position by means of nut member 22 screwed to the screw rod 21 to rotate the shafts 2, 2 through chain pulleys 12, 12,, thereby determining the pushing distance and pushed position of the work A by controlling said link mechanisms.

Adoption of an electrical driving system driven by an electric motor instead of the air pressure driven, air cylinder system and replacement of the chain by a linear material such as Wire or the like are feasible by modification of design, and it is, of course, possible to suitably arrange support arms 3, 3 independently from the main body of the press.

It is to be observed that, while the device of the invention is installed on the material insertion end of the multiplaten press, when not being used it is retracted clear of other devices such as the material insertion means and in no manner interferes with their installation or operation. When the workpieces are to be ejected, the device of the invention is moved inwardly from both sides and pushes the workpieces to optimum positions in the ejection direction. Since the above described link mechanism can be modified to suit the installation, there is a considerably wider range of installation positions than in conventional devices of this category. It is to be observed further that the device of this invention has a simple arrangement and construction and a simple, reliable, and eificient operation without waste.

While the present invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof as applied to a multiplaten hot press, it is not necessarily limited to such application, but may be utilizable in other similar or related situations such as loaders, unloaders, and other machines handling workpieces of sheet or mat form.

Accordingly, it should be understood that the foregoing disclosure relates to only a preferred embodiment of the invention and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for the purposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

What I claim is: v

In an apparatus of the type similar to a multiplaten hot press wherein a plurality .of workpieces of substantially planar shape are processed in vertically stacked arrangement interposed between parts of the apparatus, a device for ejecting the workpieces from the apparatus, said device comprising two pairs of vertical shafts disposed symmetrically on the left and right sides of the apparatus at its material insertion end, controllable driving means to drive at least one shaft on each side, pairs of left and right link mechanisms supported and driven by respective said shafts and having contact members, each of said pairs of left and right link mechanisms being so disposed and adapted that, during operation, said contact members contact and push one of said workpieces through a predetermined distance in the ejection direction away from the material insertion end and that, when not in operation, said pair of left and right link mechanisms are fully retracted toward their respective sides to avoid interference with the operation of other devices, and means to adjust the effective operational stroke of said link mechanisms and positions relative to the apparatus of said' contact members at the end of said stroke.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,726,775 12/1955 Howard 214-16.4

FOREIGN PATENTS 858,412 1/1961 Great Britain.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

R. B. JOHNSON, Assistant Examiner. 

